Should I Get A Tattoo?

In the last post I gave, we established that getting a tattoo is not a sin for a Christian. Today I would like to challenge you to think before you ink. Here are 4 to consider before you get a tattoo:

1.    Message- What will be the message of your tattoo? Tattoos send powerful messages to the readers revealing what you value. Tattoos also don’t come off in a couple of years but last a lifetime. Be sure that the message you are sending is one you want to send for the rest of your life. What does your tattoo say, does it draw attention to yourself or God? (1 Corinthians 10:31).

2.    Placement- Where will you place the tattoo on your body? Remember Jesus drew attention by who he was, not by the clothing or any other external marking. The same biblical principle that applies to clothing and modesty applies here. Ladies does the placement of the tattoo draw attention to a particular body part (1 Timothy 2:9)? Depending on your job or mission work do you need to be able to cover it up? Some jobs will not allow tattoos to show while on the clock.

3.    Cost– Do you have the extra money for the tattoo? Some tattoos can cost as much as $50-$100 or more, do you have that kind of money to get the ink or would the money be better spent somewhere else. Also, note that there is a risk for infection if the new ink is not taken care of properly. The tattoo should not take away giving from the local church, missions, bill payment, nor family needs. (2 Cor. 9:6-7; Matt. 25:29)

4.    Honor your Mother and Father- If you are a minor, are you honoring your parents? Some of you may have read my last post with glee! The pastor said it is ok to get a tattoo…WRONG! The pastor said it is not a sin to get a tattoo. If you are living at home with your parents, and your parents do not approve, you should honor their wishes. You can wait until you are out on your own to ink up. (Exodus 20:12).

If you love Jesus, and you are of age having a clear conscious on the issue. If you want to get a bible verse or something that will aid in witnessing, you can do it if you want to do it. It is not something that is forbidden nor commanded. It is a matter of christian freedom (1 Peter 2:16).

Is It a Sin for Christians to Get a Tattoo?

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” –Romans 10:4

With about 20% of our culture having tattoos, I often get this question. While some Christians say yes and others say no, the only thing that matters is what the Word of God says. Only one verse in all of the scripture could be taken out of context to teach that tattoos are wrong and that is Leviticus 19:28 (NIV) which reads, “You shall not make any cuts in your [a]body for the [b]dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.” It should be noted that the King James will not have the word Tattoo because the word did not exist in English until the 1700’s. Let me explain why this verse may have been fulfilled in Jesus’ coming and the cross.

For centuries now, theologians and church historians have understood the over 600 laws in the first five books of the Old Testament (OT) as fitting into one of three categories: civil, ceremonial, and moral. Ancient Israel was governed under a theocracy, in other words, God was their king. So some of the OT laws applied only to that structure. The church is spread out among many different governments. The ceremonial laws were laws given to instruct God’s people on how they should approach Him before the Cross and how they should look different than their pagan neighbors. The OT was about God’s people being a pure nation. So laws that forbid: wear clothing with two kinds of thread (Lev. 19:22), don’t trim your beard (Lev. 19:22), and don’t get any kind of piercings including ear piercings (Lev. 19:28). I have not found a church yet that didn’t break these laws, so I believe that Lev. 19:28 has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ and we are no longer under these laws. Also, it appears their pagan neighbors would carve themselves as a sign of grief or get tattoos of a pagan God. Think of them like you would High School requirements, once you have shown up for all the classes, read the required materials, and passed the exams you are no longer required to do them. In the same way, Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial laws of the OT. Finally, the moral laws are those that carried over from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. Examples of these would be the Ten Commandments. While flexibility was grated on the issue of when the Sabbath should be, the principle remains for God’s people in the new covenant to take a Sabbath rest.

In conclusion, no it is not a sin to get a tattoo. In Rev. 19:16, Jesus has writing on his thigh could this be a tattoo? It could be. Let’s not be quick to judge the outside of others, when we know that it is the inside that counts in God’s kingdom (Matthew 23:27). None of us should take a verse out of context to use as a hammer against our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Why are We Slow to Forgive Others?

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,”
–Matthew 6:14

In the passage above, Jesus gives a command and a warning. Christians must forgive, but countless individuals struggle to do so. A 1988 Gallup poll on forgiveness found that 94% of respondents indicated it is important to forgive, but only 48% said they make it a practice to forgive. Why doesn’t the 46% forgive?

I think there are several reasons why we don’t want to forgive and here they are:

1.    We enjoy being a wounded victim. Like an ill child fretted over, we like to milk the attention and pity of others for all that it is worth. You will be hard pressed to find the phrases “I’m so hurt” or “I’m so wronged” on the lips of Jesus, the apostles, the prophets, or the patriarchs.

2.    We enjoy anger and hatred. The reality is that many of us lead boring and uneventful lives. Perhaps C.S. Lewis captured it best in the Screwtape Letters when the demon convinced a man to do nothing he realized it and said, “I now see that I spent most my life doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.” The feeling of anger and hatred at least cause us to feel, so we nurse grievances, keep bitterness stirred up, and resentment remains.

3.    We make non-repentance of the offender an excuse. It may be true that the one who offends you has not repented, but what prevents you from adopting an attitude of forgiveness? I believe that the hardest part of forgiveness is preparing our hearts to forgive another. An attitude of forgiveness must be in place to make the transaction of forgiveness. We must do the hard work of preparing our heart for forgiveness so that if repentance happens, we can forgive them fully reconciling the relationship.

4.    We fear the abuse of forgiveness. Steaming from the fear of being used or abused, we fear that adopting this attitude and command will make us a doormat. The Bible commands us to love and pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Do you do that or do you love and pray for them?

5.    We think little and infrequently about the magnitude of our forgiveness. Perhaps a common reason that drives the other four, we don’t reflect on the immense debt of sin before God. If we were to sin only three times a day for a year that would be about 1,000 sins a year. And if the Lord blessed us with 70 years of life, we would face the judgment seat of God with 70,000 sins demanding payment. Praise God that Jesus made the great exchange (2 Corinthians 5:21) of our sin debt for His righteousness! When we realize what a debt Jesus took from us, our petty differences between one another become small potatoes.

How Do I Survive from the Heartbreak of a Church Split?

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” 

-1 Peter 4:12

I write this from personal experience. Five years ago this month, I pastored a church that split. The split left wounds on my family and me that the Lord has healed, but we still carry scars. Scars not seen with the eye. The aim of this article is to help church leaders, pastors, and members of churches who have experienced the pain of a church split. Here are some things that helped our family:

1.    Acknowledge the Loss Openly and Honestly- Church splits are best compared to death or perhaps more acutely a divorce. As those who covenant together decide they no longer want to convent together, at least 25% of church membership leaves in a very short amount of time. Paul shows us through his painful last words in 2 Timothy 4:9-22 just how relationally hard ministry is. He acknowledges how Alexander the coppersmith harmed him, Demas deserted him, and NO ONE SHOWED UP at his trial! Friends in the church can let us down and never care about us again. Your “friends” may not have stood with you in that business meeting, and it cut deep. But remember Jesus is the only totally reliable friend you will ever have!

2.    Ask, “What is God Teaching Me Through This Pain?”- You are not going through this split for no reason, what is God trying to show you? Is there a sin or sins you need to repent of? Do you need to reach out to someone on the other side even if they are wrong? Am I being disciplined by the Lord (Hebrews 12:11)? Did I just experience what it means to live in a fallen world? How can I prevent this in the future?

3.    Recognize Sometimes Godly People have Sharp Disagreements-In Acts 15, Paul and John Mark disagree sharply leading to two missionary journeys instead of one. While we don’t have all the details, we know they patched thing up later (2 Timothy 4), and God used both of them for Kingdom work and church planting. Sometimes division becomes multiplication. While not encouraged, church splits do sometimes lead to at least a healthier and Godly church. Or the split could be releasing Godly members to be used in healthier local churches. Either way, do all that you can to seek forgiveness and reconcilation.

4.    Remember Jesus Remains in Control and His Kingdom Shall Last Forever- In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells us that the gates of Hell will not overcome the church. While a local church may split or even die, new churches are born to take their place. We must be faithful to Jesus Christ and Kingdom work which displays itself in the local church. The battle may be lost, but the war will be won!

Do I Have to Reconcile with Someone When I Forgive Them?

"Accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive."

-Colossians 3:13

When God forgives a sinner like us, God makes a commitment to pardon graciously those who repent and believe so that they are reconciled to Him, although this commitment does not eliminate all consequences. His forgiveness is gracious and freely given. It is not free regarding the cost to God; God sent his one and only Son to pay the price for forgiveness.

While God’s forgiveness is given only to those who repent, God’s forgiveness lays the groundwork for and begins the process of reconciliation. When God forgives us, our relationship with Him is restored. One cannot receive forgiveness from God without being reconciled to God.

In a similar way, to guard the unity of the church, believers in the local body must continually be confronting and confessing sin.  Some passages in the Bible seem to indicate that you can just simply forgive someone without ever speaking to them about the matter (Mark 11:25); however, some passages seem to suggest that there can only be forgiveness when the offender asks to be forgiven (Luke 17:3-4).

To make sense of this tension, I would argue there is a difference between the attitude of forgiveness and the transaction of forgiveness.  Just like in the gospel, we must be ready to extend forgiveness at any time! Perhaps the hardest work of the two is preparing our hearts to forgive.  Christians must draw on the forgiveness given by Christ to forgive others.  A heart that has an attitude of forgiveness will do everything it can to help the offender to repent, and a forgiving heart will always be ready and quick to reconcile (Psalm 86:5). Conflict is not an issue of "speaking your mind" it's an opportunity of repairing the fractured relationship and growing closer to another.  The transaction of forgiveness takes place following the exposure of the sin.  After the one whom we have confronted has repented, we must forgive them and remember the promises of forgiveness we are making:

a.  I will not bring this matter up to you (the offender) again in a hurtful way in the future

b.  I will not bring this matter up to others

c.  I will not choose to dwell on it myself (to rehearse it and nurse it)

d. I will seek to be fully reconciled with the estranged party.

Biblically, forgiveness is much more than a feeling it is a commitment to pardon the offender. Forgiveness requires a heart focused on loving God and God’s glory, motivated by love for neighbor, and the courage to have tough conversations. Forgiveness also gives us joy. It takes two people to create offense, and it takes two people to have forgiveness.